1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to protective hand guards for manual tools and more particularly to a resilient universal hand guard for a hacksaw to protect the operator's hand from impact against another object during each forwardly cutting stroke of the hacksaw.
A hacksaw in use is well known to carry the risk of causing the user of the hacksaw minor or sever hand damage due to impact against an object during the forwardly cutting motion of the hacksaw. Such an injury occurs in part because of the relatively small size of the hacksaw and the type of material typically cut by the use of a hacksaw, i.e., metal objects of various sizes and shapes. Additionally, hand injury may occur when a blade is overly stressed or bound in the work substrate causing the blade to either be dislodged or broken at which point the frame of the hacksaw may be unexpected driven forwardly into the work substrate injuring the hand of the user.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of prior art devices have been previously patented which are in some fashion intended to remedy this defect in hacksaw design and use. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,078,821, Biggs teaches a hand guard for steel hacksaws disclosing a rigid arcuately formed plate attachable to the upper frame just forwardly of the handle and to the rearwardly frame just rearwardly of and associated with the threaded hacksaw blade tensioning member thereof.
De Grado, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,517,827 teaches another hacksaw frame having a rod like protective hand guard which extends in front of the user's knuckles but does not appear to protect the larger portion of the hand of the user.
Another hacksaw guard is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,974 to Swain which attaches to the frame of the hacksaw just forwardly of the handle and teaches a one-piece arcuately formed hand guard, each symmetric half of which has basket-like lobes for receiving and protecting the user's hand.
Still another hand guard for a hacksaw is disclosed by Lorch in U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,497 teaching an elongated trapezoidally shaped guard formed of sheet material such as flexible leather or leather-like substance which is formed into somewhat of a trough-like structure which surrounds the handle of the hacksaw and the user's hand from below during hacksaw use. A separate forwardly extending strap serves to at least partially attach the structure to the hacksaw at the rear of the frame thereof.
Garcher, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,655, teaches yet another guard shield for hacksaws which is formed of curved rigid plastic material having spaced central openings to receive the legs of a U-shaped clamp or clip that attaches the shield to the frame of the hacksaw.
Another safety device for hacksaws invented by Wanless in U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,649 teaches a sheet metal shield clamped onto the hacksaw frame at the handle end of the hacksaw. The shield is arcuately formed curving backward around the knuckles and back of the hand of the user while grasping the handle during use of the hacksaw.
Egan teaches yet another hacksaw hand guard in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,145 in the form of very sophisticated arcuately formed cup-like receptacles for receiving and protecting the fingers and knuckles of the hand of the user. Clifton teaches yet another hacksaw hand guard in U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,597 in the form of a two-piece assembly formed of molded rigid plastic or metal material which clamps to the frame of a uniquely configured hacksaw forwardly of the handle portion thereof.
A design of a hacksaw hand guard is disclosed by Snider in U.S. D473,445 which is unique configured to a uniquely structured frame and handle portion of a hacksaw.
The present invention teaches an extremely simple, universal hacksaw hand protecting device which is attachable to virtually any standard hacksaw by providing a resilient flat shield formed preferably of semi-rigid elastomeric or plastic material and having an upper notch and a lower aperture which cooperate to securely engage with the structure of the frame of the hacksaw in a most simplistic and economical manner.